Fushimi Inari Taisha - Part I

Kyoto is full of historical sites and shrines - none more famous than Fushimi Inari Taisha. Dedicated to Inari, the shinto god of rice, the shrine winds it’s way up the mountain side.

The shrine grounds are bustling with street food vendors, providing visitors with energy for the climb. Tourists gather around the massive entrance pillars to get their selfies, and worshippers cleanse with water and, and submit offerings of ema. Ema translates to "picture horse" and are small wooden cards to write wishes and prayers. Traditionally, in ancient times, a real horse was donated but over time it became plaques of a picture of a horse, and ultimately became what they are today. We wonder who the first cheapskate genius was that gave a picture instead of a real horse. You can purchase them to hang on the shrine. Apparently, they are burned in a ritual to liberate the wish from the writer.

We waited in a small line for Takoyaki (battered and fried octopus balls) because, although it really didn't seem appetizing to us, we thought if it's going to be good anywhere, it would be in Japan. We should have mentioned that we didn't want Bonito / Katsuobushi (dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna). I've said it before, I imagine it's what fish food tastes like. So, like a bunch of 5 year olds, we scraped it off and took a few bites of the dough because we couldn't deal with the texture of the octopus. A lot of people love Takoyaki and it's all over Japan... it's just not for us.

We also thought it was a good idea to drink out of an overpriced pulpy orange before climbing over 10k steps... this wasn't our proudest travel days in terms of using our brains. This is a lot of complaining, but we did really enjoy ourselves despite the dehydration and hunger. Learn from our mistakes: bring your own water and pack a lunch if you're not in the mood to be adventurous with food, since there aren't too many options.

Stay tuned for our trek through the iconic torii to the top of Inari Mountain.